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National Cancer Director Visits Spencer Hospital

posted on Monday, October 21, 2024 in General

SPENCER, IOWA, 10/21/24 - Spencer Hospital is a member of the Iowa Cancer Affiliate Network (I-CAN), a collaborative network of community hospitals dedicated to improving the quality of cancer care throughout Iowa. The network, facilitated by a team of accomplished researchers and clinicians at the University of Iowa, is working to improve cancer care across our state.

Kimryn Rathmell, native to the area and now Director of the National Cancer Institute, visited Spencer Hospital on October 14 as part of an I-CAN hosted tour to demonstrate the commitment that Iowa rural hospitals have in providing high quality cancer care and to share barriers that are experienced by patients and health systems in rural, and typically less resourced areas. Iowa has the 2nd highest cancer incidence rate in the United States and rural areas have a higher cancer mortality rate compared to urban areas. Through extensive collaboration and partnership building, I-CAN extends out the resources and expertise of the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Iowa Cancer Registry to a network of rural hospitals dedicated to delivering high quality and comprehensive cancer care to give their patients the best possible outcomes.

Rathmell stated, “I am happy to be back in Iowa, and I visit rural hospitals across the country whenever I get the chance because I want to better understand the challenges of providing cancer care to rural populations. She stated, “I’m worried about the fact that Iowa’s cancer rates are growing, and these discussions help us at NCI to support research funding that can help address some of the barriers.

While speaking about barriers that patients sometimes face, Mindy Sylvester, Abben Cancer Center Director shared “Receiving quality care closer to home can help alleviate financial, travel, and stressful burdens associated with receiving cancer care outside of the patient’s community. The hospitals participation in I-CAN expands access to accreditation resources, to state-of-the-science clinical trials and guidance to provide comprehensive care at Spencer Hospital. “There is power in numbers”, stated Brenda Tiefenthaler Spencer Hospital President, “being a member of I-CAN connects us with other rural hospitals who face similar challenges, and those connections create momentum to develop a path forward”. Rathmell also visited Mahaska Health in Oskaloosa Iowa and provided the Opening Keynote address, “The State of Cancer in the US”, for the Annual Iowa Cancer Summit held in Des Moines, IA on Oct 15, 2024

Pictured: Front (L-R): Amber Dodds, Abben Cancer Center Oncology Pharmacist; Micaela Maeyaert, Spencer Hospital Director of Pharmacy; Mary Charlton, I-CAN Principle Investigator and Director of the Iowa Cancer Registry; Lisa Hunter, I-CAN Project Manager; Mindy Sylvester, Abben Cancer Center Director.
Back (L-R): Vickie Miene, I-CAN Director of Administrative Services; Brenda Tiefenthaler, Spencer Hospital President; Dr. Rathmell, National Cancer Institute Director; Ed Meyer, Spencer Hospital Vice President of Information, Technology, and Security; Christine Mehan, Abben Cancer Center Nurse Supervisor; Jolie Threlkeld, Abben Cancer Center Oncology Nurse Practitioner; Danielle Vaudt, Abben Cancer Center Oncology Navigator.